Regulation of the delivering of tobacco portions from tobacco machines or the like



June 5, 1928.

GRANSTEDT REGULATION OF THE DELIVERING OF TOBACCO PORTIONS FROM TOBACCO MACHINES OR THE LIKE Filed Oct. 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I In vzaZo B 62am 5 Zed-6 June 5, 1928. 1,672,457

E. GRANSTEDT REGULATION OF THE DELIVERING OF TOBACCO PORTIONS mom TOBACCO MACHINES on THE LIKE Filed Oct. 8, 1924 s Sheets-Sheet 2 June 5, 1928.

E. GRANSTEDT REGULATION OF THE DELIVERING OF TOBACCO PORTIONS FROM TOBACCO MACHINES OR THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 8, 1924 Patented June 5, 1928 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERIK GRANSTEDT, OF STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, ASSIGNOR TO AKTIEBOLAGET FORMATOR,

OF STOOKHOLM, SWEDEN, A CORPORATION.

REGULATION OF THE DELIVERING OF TOBACCO PORTIONS FROM TOBACCO MACHINES OR THE LIKE.

Application filed October 8, 1924, Serial No. 742,455, and in Sweden may 14, 1924.

In order to obtain to the greatest possible tion of different kinds of tobacco articles such as cigars, cigar-cigarettes, cigarettes, constant smoking tobacco volumes etc., the following method is proposed in an earlier application (Serial Number 669,803).

Two or more tobacco portions which are delivered from a (storage) receptacle for the filler tobacco are brought together in a casing or the like so as to form a single volume which is then divided in portions, all of the same size. Thus if the original portions are unequal there are obtained by dividing such single volume, final portions which are equal.

In order that these linal portions may become exactly the desired size it is, however, required. that the original portions on the average have a constant size. On account of variations in the tiller tobacco or for other reasons this is however often not the case.

In the arrangement according to said application aregulating by hand can certainly be performed, whereby the portions delivered from the portioning device can be decreased or increased in size. Such regulating is however very troublesome and it has not always the desired effect, as often one or more series too small or one or more series too great portions are delivered from the portioning device.

The present invention relates to a device adapted to avoid this disadvantage.

This device is substantially characterized by the fact that the portions delivered from the portioning device are regulated automatically in respect to a preceding portion or portions in such a way that the average size of the portions will be constant.

The invention, on the first hand, is adapted to be used in machines for making cigarand cigar-cigarette rolls but it'can even suitably be used in other tobacco machines.

Two embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings. Figs. 15 show the first embodiment, according to which the invention is applied to that kind of portioning devices whichjs indicated in the above named application, Fig. 1 showing the device from the side, partially in section. with the parts in a certain operating position, Fig. 2 showing the same with Fig. 1.

- a portioning the parts in another operating position, Figs. 3 and 4 showing the device from the front and from above respectively, Fig. 4 being partially a section on line 4.4 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 being a section on the line 5-5 in Figs. 68 show the other embodiment according to which the invention is applied to such portioning devices where the filler tobacco is fed between a number f ribbons (preferably three) which form a channel, Fig. 6 being a front view partially in section, and Figs. 7 and 8 showing the device from the side and from above respectively.

The casing 1 is provided in known manner with an inlet opening 2 and a knife 3, which by means ofa suitable device not shown moves to the position shown in Fig. l (where it forms a bottom in the casing) from the swung-out position in Fig. 2 and under this movement cuts off an uncovered portion (i. e. a portion clear of the casing) of the tobacco mass in the casing. This latter which forms the receiving device for the portions to be pressed together has a shape which corresponds to the desired shape of the tobacco. Directly above the opening 2 the channel 4 is arranged, through which the filler tobacco in form of portions falls into the casing 1. The filler tobacco is brought in form of portions to the channel =1 by means of any known portioning device, for instance a device which is driven from the arm 5 in such a way that the sizeof the portions will depend on the angle of the rotating movement of the arm 5. Such device is hereinafter described and shown especially at the top of Figs. 1 and 3. The rod 6 is pivotally mounted at its lower end on a stud 8 which is attached to the vertically movable rod 7 while the rod 6 at its upper end has a stud 9 which runs easily in the slot 10 of the arm 5. The rod 7 is driven up and down from a cam or the like so that the arm 5 obtains an oscillating movement.

On the shaft 12 there is rotatably mounted a lever having three arms 13, 14 and 15, the arm 15 being connected by means of a link 16 with the rod 6, suitably at or near the middle part of the latter. On the arm 14 there is arranged a counter-weight 33 which is adjustable in the longitudinal'direction of or the like.

the arm by means of nuts 32'. On a pivot 17 which is attached to the frame 35 there is rotatably' mounted a lever 18, 19, the one arm 18 of which is pivotally connected with the rod 21 which obtains a reciprocating movement, for instance from a cam and which when moving upwards rotates the lever in such a way that the arm 19 of this latter, which arm is in form of a pawl, engages the toothed segment 20 and locks the lever 13, 14, 15 and thus the rod 6 with the studs 9 in a certain position. i

A head or the like 22 is attached to rods 60 which obtain their movement from a cam In this head a stud 23 is attached from which a sleeve 24 is suspended which precisely fits into the casing 1. Thusthe sleeve 24 obtains the same movement as the rods 60. On the stud 23 a piston 25, in form of a rectangular frame, rests, which piston is movable vertically in the sleeve 24. The movement of the. piston 25 to the lowest end position in respect to the sleeve is shown in Figure 1. The movement upwards of the piston is limited by projections 26 (Figs. 1 and 4) on the head 22.

Projections 28 on the head 22 are 'provided with hubs 29 (Fig. 4) in which a shaft 30 is journalled. Arms 31 and 32 are attached to said shaft. arm 32 is pressed against the piston 25. The arm 31 is arranged directly over the arm 13. The distance between the shaft 12 and the shaft 30 is so selected with respect to the movement of the head 22, that in the position which the piston assumes with respect to the sleeve 24 when this latter is in its lowest position (Fig. 2) the stud .9 on the arm 6 has been moved in the slot 10 in the arm 5 by means of the arms 32 and 31 and the lever 13, 14, 15 and this to an extent which corresponds to the movement of the piston 25 in respect to the sleeve 24, which latter movement in turn depends on the quantity of filler tobacco in the casing 1, as will be more clearly stated below. The arrangement is further such, that when the piston assumes the one or the other end position in respect to the sleeve 24, the stud 9 assumes the corresponding end position in the slot 10. The arms 30, 31, 32 are provided with antifriction rollers 36.

The portioning device shown at the top of Figs. 1 and 3 is constructed as follows:

A shaft7l is rotatably mounted in the bearings 69, on the frame 35. On this shaft 71 there is rigidly secured a feed-roller 73, provided with pins 74, and further a ratchet Wheel 68 is attached on said shaft. An arm 65, on the contrary, is loosely mounted with its lower end on the shaft 71.

The pawl 67, engaging the ratchet wheel, is loosely mounted on a common stud 64, which is rigidly attached to the arm 65. The lower end of the link 63 is loosely By a spring 73 the mounted on the stud 62, which is rigidly attached to a projection on the arm 5.

75 is a receptacle for tobacco mass, and

this receptacle has a reduced lower part, in

" ment of the arm 5. By the said movement of the arm 65 the ratchetwheel 68 is rotated by means of the pawl 67. The rotating movement of said ratchet wheel 68 is transmitted to the feed-roller 73 by means of the shaft 71, so that the pins in the roller feed a certain portion of tobaccojrom the recepfeed-roller (respectively the size of the tobacco portion delivered by said'feed-roller) is directly proportional to the extent of the swinging movement of the arm 5.

The machine operates as follows:

After a tobacco portion has entered the casing 1 (said portion being indicated in Fig. l with a field 34 of dotted lines) the rods 60 obtain a movement downwards until the head 22 assumes the position indicated in Fig. 2. The knife 3 has then uncovered the lower opening of the casing'l and the sleeve 24 and the piston 25 have then pressed together the filler tobacco against the frame 35,'the arms 18 and 19 having immediately before the head 22 has reached the lowest position obtained such a movement that the arm 19 has been brought out of engagementwith the segments 20, whereby the lever 13, 14, 15 has been freely rotatable on the shaft 12 and underthe influence of the counterweight 33 has pressed the piston 25. downwards by means of the arms 31 and 32, so that ,the supplied portion has been pressed together with the other tobacco mass in the casing.

It will be understood from the above and the drawings, that the piston presses the tobacco mass together to a height which corresponds to the pressing effect of the counter-weight. Thus the stud 9 assumes a position in the slot 10 corresponding to the quantity ofthe'filler tobacco in the casing. If for any reason the supplied portion is smaller than normal the piston 25 moves deeper in respect to the sleeve 24, thus moving the stud 9 in the slot 10 nearer the pivot of the arm 5. Inversely the stud 9 is moved outwards in the slot 10, when the supplied portion is greater than normal and the piston 25 thus has not moved so deep.

The stud 9 in theslot 10 is securedin its position by the arm 19 engaging the segment 20 immediately before the head 22 begins to return to its upper pos1tion. Then the rod 7 obtains a movement by which the arm 5 and the shaft 12 are rotated in such a way that a new portion of filler tobacco is introduced into the channel 4 by means of the portioning device shown in my copending application Ser. No. 742,454.

It is obvious that the extent of the swinging movement of the arm 5 depends upon the position which the stud 9 assumes 1n the slot 10. As the extent of this swinging movement of the arm 5, as previously described, determines the size of the portion, it has been obtained by the construction described, that the size of the entering portion will be automatically regulated by the size of the previous portion, that is, if the previous portion has been too small, the neXt portion will be greater in a corresponding degree. In such way it is thus obtained that the average portioning will be constant.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show another embodiment of the invention. According to this embodiment the invention is applied to such devices where the filler tobacco is fed to ribbons or the like. The ribbons 41, 42, 43 have an intermittent movement in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 7) and the extent of each period'of movement is about of the length of the guiding plates 44, 45 for the filler tobacco, which plates are located above the ribbons 41, 42. In the space between these guiding plates a long piston 46 (which is horizontally located) moves up and down. The piston 46 is pivotally suspended at its one (right, Figs. 7 and 8) end on a stud 47 which is journalled in the bow 48 on a vertical rod 49. The other end of the piston 46 is suspended on the stud 50 on the arm 51. This arm 51 is attached to the .one end of a shaft 52 which is mounted in the how 53 attached to the vertical rod 54. An arm 58 is attached to that end of the shaft 52 which is more distant from the piston 46. From the bow 53, stops 55 and 56 project which limit the movement upwards of the arms 51 and 52. The piston 46 grasps the stud 50 by means of an oblong slot 57. The piston thus can assume any position between the lower position, shown with full lines in Fig. 7, and the upper position, shown with dashed and dotted lines in the same figure. The rods 49 and 54 obtain such a vertical reciprocating movement between said positions from a cam or the like during the operation of the machine.

The machine operates in the following way:

I \Vhen the piston 46 is in its upper posi-- tion. the portioning of the filler tobacco is effected from a suitable portioning device directly above the piston, so that the mass falls between the piston 46 and the guiding plates 44, 45 along the whole or nearly the whole length of the latter and finally bethe front part of the guiding plates. Nor

mally the piston inclines in about the same degree as the level of the tobacco mass.

\Vhen the tobacco mass has fallen down between the ribbons 41, 42, 43, the rods 49, 54 and also the piston 46 obtain their movement downwards. The piston 46 then abuts against the underlying tobacco mass and, depending upon the size of the portion last fed down, the piston 46 swings more or less on the pivot 47, such movement being transferred to the arm 58 which in this position is pressed downwards against the arm 13. The arm 13 is arranged and acts in the same manner as the arm 13 in the embodiment according to Figs. 1 and 6, and this is also the case with respect to'the regulating mechanism proper, which is not shown in Figs. 6 and 8.

According to the embodiment last described, it is thus obtained that the size of the latest supplied portion determines the size of the next portion.

In other respects the constructions shown can be modified without departing from the principle of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States of America is I 1. A tobacco machine, including a device for receiving portions of tobacco, a portioning device adapted to deliver -said portions successively to the receiving device, and regulating means whereby when the size of the tobacco mass in the receiving device varies from the normal size the following portion delivered from the portioning device is automatically altered in a corresponding degree.

2. A tobacco machine, including a device for receiving portions of tobacco, a portioning device adapted to deliver said portions successively to the receiving device, and regulating means whereby the size of the tobacco mass in the receiving device varies from the normal size, the following portion delivered from the portioning device is automatically altered in a corresponding degree, said. latter means containing a member, movable towards and from the tobacco mass supplied to the receiving device;

3. A tobacco machine, including a device for receiving portions of tobacb, a portioning device adapted to deliver said portions successively to the receiving device, and regulating means whereby when the size of the tobacco mass in the receiving device varies from the normal size, a following portion delivered from the portioning device is automatically altered in a corresponding degree, said latter means containing a member, movable towards and from the tobacco mass supplied to the receiving device, and means forcausing said member to move towards the tobacco mass in the receiving device and to stop against the mass at a position which depends upon the size of the mass.

4. A tobacco machine, including a device for receiving portions of tobacco, a portioning device adapted to deliver'said portions successively to the-receiving device, and regufor receiving portionsof tobacco, a portions? "ing device adapted to deliver said portionssuccessively to the-receivin device, a n1em- -ber movable towards and rom the tobacco mass supplied to the receiving device and a device exerting a resilient pressure upon said member towards the tobacco mass in the receiving device.

6. A tobacco machine, including a device for receiving portions of tobacco, a portioning device adapted to deliver said portions successively to the receivin device, a member movable towards and roin the tobacco mass supplied to the receiving device and a device exerting a resilient pressure upon said movable member towards the tobacco mass in the receiving device, a drivin adjustable member for the portioning (evice connected with said ressure exerting device, and'means where said driving member .is adjusted according" as the pressure from said pressure exerting device is clianged. 1

7. A tobacco machine, including a casing for receiving and shaping portions of tobacco, a piston movable towards and from the tobacco mass supplied to said casing, a portioning device, and regulating means whereby, when the size of the tobacco mass in the receiving device varies from the normal s ze, the following portion delivered from the portioning device is automatically altered in a corresponding degree.

8. A tobacco machine, including a casing for receiving and shaping portions of tobacco, a piston movable towards and from the 'tobacco mass supplied to said casing, a portioning device, a piston carrying part movable in the direction of the piston path, the piston being movable with relation to saidpart, a pressure member for causing the piston to move in relation to said part in the pressing direction toward the mass, a driving adjustable member for the portioning device connected with said pressure member, the adjustment of which member determining the size of the portion delivered from the portion device, and means. where by the said adjustment is varied according a driving adjustable member for the portion ing device, a lever connected with the driving adjustable member and acted upon by the weight, the adjustment of the driving adjustable member determining the size of the portion delivered from the portioning device, and-means whereby the said adjustmentjs varied according to the end pos tion in which the piston stops against the to bacco mass.

510. A tobacco machine, including a casing for receiving and shaping portions of tobacco, a piston movable towards and from the tobacco mass supplied to said'casing, a portioning device, a piston carrying part movable in the direction of the piston path, the piston being movable with relation to said part, a pressure member for causing the piston to move in relation to-said part in the pressing direction toward the mass, a driving adjustable member for the portioning device connected with the pressure member, the adjustment of said adjustable member dcterminin the size of the portion delivered from the portioning device, means whereby the said adjustment is varied according to the end position in which the piston stops against'the tobacco mass, and a ratchet mechanism cooperating with said last mentioned means and adapted to secure the said driving member in the adjusted positioned.

'11. A tobacco machine, including a casing for receiving and shaping ortions of tobacco, a piston movable towar s and from the tobacco mass supplied to said casing, a portioning device, a'piston carrying part movable in the directionof the piston path, the piston being movable with relation to said part, a pressure member for causing the piston to move in relation to said part in the pressing direction ,toward the mass, a driving adjustable member for the portioning device connected with said pressure member, the adjustment of said driving member determining the size of the portion delivered from theportioning device, and means whereby the said adjustment is varied according to the end position in which the piston stops against the tobacco mass, a ratchet mechanism cooperating with the last mentioned means and adapted .to secure the said driving member in the adjusted position, a driving part for the ratchet mechanism, and means whereby said ratchet mechanism is released before the piston carrying part has reached its end 'POSltlOIl.

12. A' tobacco machine, including a casing for receiving and shaping portions of tobacco, a piston movable towards and from the toba'cco' mass supplied to said casing, a portioning device, a piston carrying part movable in the direction of. the piston path, the piston being movable with relation to said part, a lever, a pressure member for actuating the lever, member. to move its carrying part so as gether' in the casing, said means consisting of a second lever (pivotally mounted on the piston carrying part, means for causing the one arm of said second lever to press the iston against the piston carrying part, While the other arm of the second lever is located opposite to an arm on the first named lever. v

13. A tobacco machine, including a device for receiving and shaping portions of to" bacco, a portioning-device adapted to deliver the piston in relation to topress the mass to means for causing saidsaid portions successively to the receiving device, and means whereby the-quantity of tobacco in the receivingdevice determines the size of the next portion, delivered from the portioning device.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

'. ERIK GRANSTEDT. 

